Platform Engineer, Whatnot
$215-285k
+ Equity
Live stream platform & marketplace for collectibles
Open for applications
Live stream platform & marketplace for collectibles
501-1000 employees
Open for applications
$215-285k
+ Equity
501-1000 employees
Company mission
Whatnot missions is to enable anyone to turn their passion into a business and bring people together through commerce.
Role
Who you are
- 8+ years of software engineering experience
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, a related field, or equivalent work experience
- Exceptional coding skills and the ability to ship new products lightning fast. We primarily use Python, Elixir, JavaScript, but previous knowledge of each is not required
- Deep knowledge of SQL and non-SQL storage systems (we currently have Postgres and DynamoDB but prior knowledge of these particular systems is not required)
- Prior experience in a public cloud environment (AWS, GCP) using Kubernetes, Docker, and IaC tools like Terraform
- Previous experience at a hyper-growth startup. You’re an excellent problem solver and a self-starter who can hit the ground running with little direction
- Excellent ability to understand product requirements in the context of a scalable platform. You first think about users rather than the best technical solution
- Known for the high quality of your engineering designs
- Ability to pick up on new technologies very quickly
What the job involves
- Platform engineers at Whatnot are key to allowing us to build new products and features quickly and reliably, constantly catering towards our fast growing business
- To achieve our ambitious scaling goals, we are investing in building a world class platform infrastructure
- We foster collaborative culture, where the platform engineering team works very closely with the product and infrastructure teams
- We ship new features quickly to our users, but we don’t want to compromise the long term stability of our platform
- Our business is scaling very quickly, and we're looking for passionate engineers who can help our platform match the growth of the company
- The software team has a lot of individual responsibility and many more freedoms, so we need to hire people we can trust
- Your ability to translate platform strategy into a sound system design is essential to us
Our take
The collectible toy market is large, and Whatnot has built a unique social platform that enables sellers to use livestreams to showcase their products and reach more buyers. The company’s focus is on collectible toys, some of which are rare and can cost thousands of dollars, and has also expanded to sports cards.
The idea of Whatnot was led by buyer trends. Instagram's live feature became a popular place for selling toys and trading cards, but of course was not set up to facilitate bidding or handling payments after a sale occurs. Whatnot combines live showcasing with follow-up sale capabilities, thus serving the community in a more novel way than established collectibles market players such as eBay.
The company has grown fast. It was established in 2019 and has already expanded from its original category - Funko Pop figurines - to Pokemon cards, pins, sports cards, and many more. There is still plenty of scope for expanding into new categories, as the company aims to establish itself as the go-to for this large niche, which will be facilitated by the strong levels of funding that Whatnot has raised.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Some candidates hear
back within 2 weeks
54% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Employee endorsements
Hard working team
"Everyone here puts in the work. It's refreshing to work on a team where everyone is carrying their weight and lifting each other up. The work ethic..."
Funding (last 2 of 6 rounds)
Jul 2022
$260m
SERIES D
Sep 2021
$150m
SERIES C
Total funding: $484.2m
Company benefits
- Wellness: Health, dental, vision, and life insurance plans. We also cover some of the cost for your dependents as well.
- Compensation: Full-time Whatnauts receive equity, a WFH stipend to support your remote workspace and a monthly stipend to dogfood the app.
- Recharge: Flexible Time Off policy, holiday week off at the end of year, and paid parental leave after 1 year with us.
- Flexibility: Remote-first work culture. We provide a working environment where you're in charge of your time and schedule.
Company values
- Always listen to customers
- Move uncomfortably fast
- Prioritize impact ruthlessly
- Own everything and nothing
- Set crazy goals
- Provide extreme transparency
- Optimize for the upside
- Team over ego
- Figure it out
- Deeply understand why
- Have fun & be nice
Company HQ
Marina del Rey, CA
Articles
Leadership
Grant LaFontaine
(Co-Founder & CEO)Former Product Marketing Manager at Google, Project Manager at Facebook. Also co-founded Kit.
Logan Head
(Co-Founder)Experience in Engineering, including at Maker's Row, Factr, and Flight Club. Former Senior Product Manager at GOAT.
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